Monday, August 28, 2006

and revising wins...

My new novel isn't quite ready to be written. It's begging for a bit more gelling time so I am letting it percolate on the back burner for awhile more. (I'd hoped to start writing this week.)

That brings the revision of Quest to be Queen to the foreground. I'm hoping to have a round on it done before Nano. Quest is a light-hearted fantasy spoof following Teagren through the seven lands of Dhaneira as she searches for the seven tokens that will confirm her eligibility to be chosen as the Prince's bride. Thus, the story is divided into seven long chapters. One of my jobs will be to look at additional appropriate divisions within each task.

Another problem is that the story is a little short at 70K. Okay, a LOT short. I need to consider how to best complicate some of the shorter chapters as they're not all the same length. Or possibly weave in another sub-plot or two.

It is true that some of the chapters flow better than others as well. Some of them just naturally took all the twists and turns that could be spoofed out of traditional fairy tales, myths, and cartoons. Others I struggled with more. I need to evaluate those chapters and see if I'm completely on the wrong track with those tasks or if they just need a new character or situation tossed in to make them come up smelling sweeter.

Besides the Quest revision, I've still only done about a third of Maripat's novel crit. And the recipe forum keeps me hopping as well. I probably have enough going on for the next couple months.

It could fall into YA, but I've been eyeing the Luna line and thinking it might have a similar feel. Howeverthey START at 100K. Guidelines here: http://www.eharlequin.com/cms/learntowrite/ltwArticle.jhtml?pageID=030317wu01001

Thanks for stopping by, Mir. I had a first draft of about 53 K once upon a time but it was only my second novel and I didn't know anything about plotting yet.

70k sounds good to me. There are plenty of fantasy (and non-fantasy books) that are under 70k. The first Harry Potter, if my estimate is correct, is about 65k. A Kiss Before Dying, by Ira Levin (Rosemary's Baby, Stepford Wives) is under 70k. In fact, most of my favorite books are around 70k. (including the first book in King's Dark Tower series)

My advice is to just write the story and forget the length. Write the story you want to hear, and then upon revising if it lacks, add some. But don't add to just beef up the word count. There are too many books on the market that seem to be missing an editor already. If your writing is good, a publishing company will let you know if they want it beefier. Just keep writing!

About Me

Valerie Comer’s life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary Christian romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie grows much of her own food and is active in the local foods movement as well as her church. She only hopes her imaginary friends enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.
Valerie is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner. She has been called “a stellar storyteller” as she injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances.